Vice-President Šefčovič in Kyiv to kick-start EU-Ukraine strategic partnership on raw materials and batteries

Today and tomorrow, Vice-President Šefčovič is in Ukraine to discuss and strengthen the collaboration between the EU and Ukraine on critical raw materials and batteries. During his visit, he will meet, among others, Prime Minister Denys Smhyhal and the chairman of Ukraine's Parliament, Dmytro Razumkov. The main aim of the visit is to sign, in the margins of tomorrow's High-Level Conference on Critical Raw Materials and Batteries, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the Strategic Partnership, with the aim of achieving closer integration of critical raw materials value chains and of batteries. Ahead of the visit, Vice-President Šefčovič said: “Securing a sustainable supply of raw materials is an essential prerequisite for delivering on green and digital transition objectives. Our strategic partnership will go a long way towards boosting the resilience of both Ukraine and Europe, especially as we seek to bounce forward and emerge stronger from the current pandemic that has taken a heavy toll on our economies and societies.” This tangible development is a direct positive result of the Action Plan on Critical Raw Materials in September 2020. It confirms the importance of having strong partnerships with third countries in order to achieve our ambition to secure a diversified and sustainable supply of critical raw materials. The High-Level Conference, the signing ceremony and the press conference by Vice-President Šefčovič with Prime Minister Smhyhal, taking place tomorrow as of 09:00 CET can be followed on EbS.